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Before You Crash And Burn, Try A Restart

When I bought my home, it was a hot mess. While it had beautiful mature trees, a stunning lot and incredible structural integrity, it also had purple toilets, scratched and dented floors as well as windows so old the wind blew right through!

I had the option of tearing the whole thing down and starting with a fresh canvas but there was too many great elements I wanted to keep. So I chose to renovate. Room-by-room and floor-by-floor I persistently worked to alter the parts that needed it while maintaining those that have withstood the test of time. A couple years later, I have a beautiful home that while contemporary and style-savvy also contains classical elements that can’t be replicated.

When I was appointed CEO of Roma Moulding, I faced a similar decision. We were doing some things great, some all right and others were dragging us down. Should I renovate the business and build upon the amazing structural integrity that was in place? Or would I be better off tearing it down and starting from scratch?

While there was much that needed improving, altering or all together scrapping, I opted to restart versus starting over.

Restart: To start again or anew, to get going or set in motion, a rebirth.

Restarting was a monumental event and entirely necessary. I had legitimate fear when I announced my intentions to our Board and leaders. Just like when I first stepped into my home, I was worried that I had bitten off more than I could chew.

Having a sound strategy is vital to the success of your restart. You wouldn’t just walk into your home with a sledgehammer one day and start banging away. You need to plan what you are going to do and when. Do you start with the windows or carpeting? What happens after you renovate the bathrooms? Take it bit-by-bit at first. At Roma, our restart is a five-year to lifetime culture strategy.

A restart isn’t for everyone. When you change the game rules you’ll notice a wide variety of reactions. Some will love the new rules and want to stay, some will be on the fence and some will go kicking and screaming.

Those that love the new direction will jump for joy and say, “Yes! I knew you guys had it in you!” These people will become your ambassadors in your restart. The people on the fence will be wondering if the changes are permanent or will all the talk of happiness at work just disappear after six months. Then there are those who dig their heels in and protest that they’re not going to change. Don’t fret about them too much; the new culture will weed these people naturally.

“A bigger business is like a cruise ship: There are lots of amenities and you can go a lot further, but it’s harder to turn quickly,” Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com.

When planning a restart, you need to be real and ask yourself the following three questions:

What’s working well? What is kind of working? What’s not working at all?

The stuff that’s working well, park it and improve it later. With the stuff that’s not working, get the consensus needed to kill it. If 7 out of 10 want to kill it, then get rid of it.

The stuff in the middle, get everyone you need in a room and hold a forum where there are no right or wrong answers to figure out how it can immediately begin to improve. We noticed more often than not, we had to kill the stuff in the middle. It worked but only because it was supported by antiquated systems that wouldn’t be around much longer. Once we updated our environment, much of the stuff in the middle was destined to die.

A restart is your best opportunity to drastically change the direction, policies and people that will allow your business to reach new heights.

Here are my three most important tips when strategizing a restart:

Based on our Family Core Value #9: Deliver transparent, open and honest communication; you’ll need to be clear and concise when announcing your intentions. Your ability to articulate why you are restarting and how it will improve your company to your leaders, Board members, partners and suppliers is vital to having people share your vision

Assess your team: Quickly determine who’s on the team. Do they share your core values and the passion needed to succeed? If not, start searching for them, they are out there

Evaluate what’s working: Place everything you do into one of three areas – what’s working great, what’s kind of working and what’s dead in the water.

The Chatter:

Excellent post! I never witnessed the “before” but I can sure attest to the “after”. It takes a huge amount of courage to go against the grain but the results speak for themselves.

Posted By Gordon Thain 3 years ago

Roma culture is evident, not only to the lucky ones who get to work here…but also to our partners. Many of whom have adopted some of our core values.

Posted By Doris 3 years ago

I’ve witnessed the “before” and the “after”. Great things, people and even companies sometimes need drastic changes and then they become even better.

Posted By Sean Danaher 3 years ago

I can say I’ve seen the before and after and it is truly amazing!!! Thanks for having the courage Tony!

Posted By Tania Santana 3 years ago

Back when I was in the corporate world I implemented your same strategy. It is painful but with patience and perseverance it will work. I think the key is to get EVERYONE on board which is hard to do but it’s the key to success..best to you and your team!

Posted By Patrick Conrad 3 years ago

Tony, some great advice and approach that is applicable to ones personal decisions as well!

Posted By Scott Gorman 3 years ago

The transformation at Roma has truly been remarkable.

Posted By Lisa 3 years ago

I have never been in an environment where such great change has taken place in what seems like such a short time. Change is good but at the same time it can be scary, we are all afraid of the unknown, but it is amazing what we uncover about ourselves after change takes place.

Posted By Len Mammoliti 3 years ago

Tony was able to put in place the right strategy with a great foundation, strong principles and an amazing team! The new Roma is here to stay! What a great read!